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Brain Insulin Action Regulates Hypothalamic Glucose Sensing And The Counterregulatory Response To Hypoglycemia, Kelly Diggs-Andrews

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The brain is the primary organ that senses blood glucose levels and initiates a stress response when blood glucose levels are too low: hypoglycemia). Insulin-dependent people with Type 1 diabetes: T1DM) have an impaired ability to sense hypoglycemia and an impaired ability to activate this counterregulatory response: CRR) to hypoglycemia. As a result, T1DM are at a greater risk of experiencing insulin induced severe hypoglycemic episodes, which can result in seizures, brain damage, or even death. Since hypoglycemia is a major barrier that limits intensive blood glucose control, important research initiatives are needed to prevent or reduce the burden of …

The Role Of Skeletal Development In Body Size Evolution Of Two North American Frogs, Sarah Beth Havens

Masters Theses

"In order to better understand the evolution of miniaturization in Acris blanchardi, a North American Hylid with a unique life history and of ecological interest in the United States. The development and ossification sequences of 48 larvae, 5 juveniles and 5 adult A. blanchardi were examined. The adult was described by Maglia et al. (2007) to be a miniature and to display morphological novelties. In addition, 44 larvae, 2 juvenile and 5 adults of Pseudacris crucifer a closely related frog that has been suggested to be a miniature, were examined. The cranial and postcranial adult elements of this species, as …

Dact Family Molecules In Wnt Signaling In Mouse Development, Daniel Fisher

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The Wnt: Wingless-Integration) molecular signaling pathways are known to be integral in the embryonic patterning of multicellular animals, and are misregulated in multiple types of cancer. Wnt signaling includes multiple biochemical signaling pathways downstream of the Wnt family of secreted proteins and their receptors. Many, and possibly all, of these pathways converge on the intracellular protein Dishevelled, whose interactions appear essential in determining the cell-autonomous effects of the Wnt signal. Dact: Dapper, Antagonist of Beta Catenin Targeting) proteins were identified based on their binding to Dishevelled. There are three Dact encoding genes in mammals, and these show unique expression patterns …

Pattern Formation And Magnetism In Pulsed Laser-Induced Self-Organized Nanostructures From Single And Bilayer Metallic Films, Hare Krishna

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Self-organization via nanosecond pulsed laser melting of thin metal films is attractive as a reliable and low cost method to create surface metallic nanostructures. The potential applications of these resulting structures are related to their magnetic, optical, plasmonic, and magneto-optical properties, such as in high density magnetic storage, energy harvesting, and sensing. In this dissertation experimental and theoretical mechanisms of nanoscale patterning by dewetting self-organization was explored in nanoscopic thickness single and bilayer metal films. Magnetism in the resulting nanostructures was also explored. Experimental techniques included thin film deposition, laser irradiation, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force and magnetic …

Microalgal Bioremediation Of Nutrients In Wastewater And Carbon Dioxide In Flue Gas, Anand Murali Narasimhan

Masters Theses

"Microalgae are potential biofuel feedstocks that can provide solutions to the twin challenges of energy security and environmental pollution. They have great potential for the removal of excess nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater including the farm runoff. They can capture carbon dioxide in the flue gas from coal fired power plants thereby reducing greenhouse gas and also producing algal biomass, which can be converted into biofuel. In this study, the nutrient consumption of Scenedesmus algae was investigated in a batch culture and the biomass yield was determined. Algae were able to utilize carbon in the form of soluble carbonates which …

Laryngeal Apparatus And Call Structure In North American Hylids, Barbara Ann Catherine Fears

Masters Theses

"Although the ecological implications and structure of frog calls have been the subject of much study, little is known about the association between the laryngeal apparatus morphology and call structure in North American hylids. In this study linear measurements of the laryngeal apparatus were captured and compared to the call structures of thirteen species of North American hylids. Species examined included: Pseudacris crucifer, P. triseriata, P. ocularis, Acris crepitans blanchardi, Hyla avivoca, H. cinerea, H. gratiosa, H. chrysoscelis, H. versicolor, H. squirella, H. femoralis, H. arenicolor, and H. eximia. Six homologous landmark points were identified, and the lengths between them …

Improving Resiliency Using Graph Based Evolutionary Algorithms, Jayakanth Jayachandran

Masters Theses

"Resiliency is an important characteristic of any system. It signifies the ability of a system to survive and recover from unprecedented disruptions. Various characteristics exist that indicate the level of resiliency in a system. One of these attributes is the adaptability of the system. This adaptability can be enhanced by redundancy present within the system. In the context of system design, redundancy can be achieved by having a diverse set of good designs for that particular system. Evolutionary algorithms are widely used in creating designs for engineering systems, as they perform well on discontinuous and/or high dimensional problems. One method …

An Artificial Life Approach To Evolutionary Computation: From Mobile Cellular Algorithms To Artificial Ecosystems, Shivakar Vulli

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents a new class of evolutionary algorithms called mobile cellular evolutionary algorithms (mcEAs). These algorithms are characterized by individuals moving around on a spatial population structure. As a primary objective, this thesis aims to show that by controlling the population density and mobility in mcEAs, it is possible to achieve much better control over the rate of convergence than what is already possible in existing cellular EAs. Using the observations and results from this investigation into selection pressure in mcEAs, a general architecture for developing agent-based evolutionary algorithms called Artificial Ecosystems (AES) is presented. A simple agent-based EA …

Doxazosin Induces Apoptosis In Pten–Positive Androgen-Independent Pc Cells Via Inhibition Of Akt Activation, Hanna M Romanska, Maciej Salagierski, Rachel Bruton, P D Abel, Marek Sosnowski, El Nasir Lalani

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Doxazosin, a selective α1-adrenoreceptor antagonist widely used in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), has been shown to induce apoptosis in androgen-independent (AI) and PTEN (phosphatases and tensin homolog)-negative prostate cancer (PC) cells. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of doxazosin on the growth of PC cells with a functional PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathway in relation to cell androgen sensitivity and Bcl-2 expression. Material and methods. The DU145 cell line and two derivatives: 1) DKC9 [DU145 (Bcl2 +/+)] and 2) DAR19 [DU145 (AR+/+)] were used. The effect of doxazosin on i) cell proliferation and ii) Akt phosphorylation …

State Spatial Practices And Uneven Development: Flexible Rescaling In Appalachia, Jacquelyn Jordon Core

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Geographic theories regarding uneven development, including Neil Smith's convergence of Marxist theory and spatial development and David Harvey's development of scalar fix and later conceptual development of the process of capital accumulation, historically have focused primarily on how and why uneven development occurs. Research to date has provided only a cursory examination of what role, if any, the state plays in impacting uneven development, has not endeavored to characterize the state as an active, purposeful spatial player in the process of uneven development, and has not conceptualized how the state impacts uneven development through spatial practices, if the state does …

Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policy Regimes And Population Health: Assessing Causal Loops, Stephanie J. Frisbee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tobacco products remain among the most controversial consumer products of all time: cigarettes are the only legal product that, when used as intended, are lethal. The global and individual burden attributable to the primary use of tobacco, or secondary or tertiary exposure to cigarette smoke, whether measured by morbidity, mortality, or economic costs, is substantial. With the combined efforts of scientific research, public health and policy advocates, the image and use of tobacco products has undergone profound change. However, while much has been achieved regarding the attitudinal, behavioral, and policy changes needed to diminish the individual, social, and economic costs …

On The Mechanisms Underlying Neural Repression By E(Spl)M8 In Drosophila, Bhaskar Kahali

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Notch signaling is an evolutionary conserved pathway that mediates binary cell-fate specification throughout animal development. Through a process termed lateral inhibition, Notch signaling drives two equipotent cells to adopt distinct fates. Binary cell-fate determination has been exceptionally well studied during Drosophila neurogenesis, particularly, in eye and bristle development. In the eye, Notch mediates the selection of R8 photoreceptors from clusters of R8 precursors by antagonizing the activity of the proneural activator Atonal (Ato). In the bristle, Notch drives the selection of the sensory organ precursors (SOP's) from a group of equipotential cells that expressed the proneural activators encoded by the …

Brook Trout Response To Canopy And Large Woody Debris Manipulations In Appalachian Streams, Jonathan Ma. Niles

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The forested riparian area along many central Appalachian streams contains large volumes of harvestable timber. Best management practices (BMP) and streamside management zones (SMZ) have been developed to minimize the impacts of riparian timber harvest. Large woody debris (LWD) is an important component of forested streams and its role in chemical, biological, and physical processes in streams is complex. The extraction of timber within the streamside management zone reduces the amount of material available for aquatic structure.;Three-250 m study reaches were established on eight Appalachian headwater streams. Four of the streams were assigned the treatment of having a 50% basal …

Effects Of Essential Oils On Rumen Fermentation, Eating Behavior And Milk Production In Lactating Dairy Cattle, Lisa Rachel Tager

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objectives of the current studies were to: (1) investigate the effects of cinnamaldehyde (CIN), eugenol (EUG), and capsicum oil (CAP) on rumen fermentation and pH characteristics in continuous culture using a corn-based dairy ration; (2) to assess the in vivo effects of CAP at the recommended dosage, a blend of CIN and EUG at the recommended dosage, and a blend of CIN and EUG at a high dosage closer to levels used in vitro, on rumen fermentation, rumen pH, milk production, and feeding behavior; and (3) to assess the effects of CAP in a larger scale study on eating …

Low-Power Analog Circuits For Sub-Band Speech Processing, Anvesh Kumar Singireddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The need for efficient electronics has been increasing by the day, as have the constraints on power and size of the devices. Also the increase in use of mobile and wearable electronics has been leading to innovative methods to conserve power and increase functionality. The traditional approach of signal processing heavily relies on the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) hardware to perform most of the tasks, which has lead to power-hungry circuits. Use of analog front-end devices could prove to be efficient, since most of the real-world data is analog and since the DSP could be spared for more application-specific tasks …

Late-Preterm And Full-Term Infant Sleep: Relations With Maternal Cognitions And Nocturnal Behaviors, Marion E. Young

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Approximately 13% of infants born in the United States each year are delivered prematurely, defined as prior to 37 weeks gestation. Among these premature infants, 84% are born between 32 and 36 weeks gestation (Kelly, 2006). Past research has found that the sleep/wake patterns of late-preterm and full-term infants are different (Gossel-Symank, Grimmer, Korte, & Siegmund, 2004; Ingersoll & Thoman, 1999; Ju et al., 1991). However, little is known about psychosocial factors (i.e., maternal sleep-related cognitions and nocturnal behaviors) that may contribute to differences between late-preterm and full-term infant sleep. Few studies have investigated the relations among infant sleep behavior, …

Synthesis Of Helical And Bowl-Shaped Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds Via Benzannulated Enyne-Allenes, Bo Wen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The cascade radical cyclization of the benzannulated enyne-allenes provides an efficient synthetic pathway to a variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Three indeno-fused 4,5-diheteroarylphenanthrenes were synthesized by thermolysis of corresponding benzannulated enyne-allenes. Its X-ray structure shows that the substituents at C4 and C5 positions of the phenanthryl system are essentially parallel to each other and cause severe helical twist of the structures. The presence of two terpyridyl units in 2.2c allowed it to be used as a ligand for the synthesis of dinuclear ruthenium(II) bis(terpyridine) complexes possessing severe helical twists.;Several 1,4-naphthoquinone methides were synthesized via an unusual acid-catalyzed cascade cyclization sequence …

Aquatic Ecology Of San Felipe Lake, San Benito County, California, Julie Renee Casagrande

Master's Theses

This two-year study examined San Felipe Lake environmental factors and food-web relationships. The lake is shallow, warm, productive, and generally well-mixed. High turbidity resulted from wind mixing of bottom sediments, carp feeding activity, and plankton blooms and excluded submerged aquatic plants. Emergent vegetation was restricted by cattle grazing. Summer temperatures reached 26-28°C throughout the water column, and dissolved oxygen was occasionally low on the bottom overnight and during windless daytime periods. Phytoplankton, fine organic matter, and detritus formed the base of the food web, supporting a zooplankton community dominated by copepods, the water column macroinvertebrate Neomysis, and several open water …

Learning Statistics Using Concept Maps: Effects On Anxiety And Performance, Patrick Francis Cravalho

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis was to study the use of concept mapping in an

undergraduate statistics course in order to examine the effects on statistics anxiety and

academic performance by means of a two-group quasi-experimental design. Two

undergraduate statistics classes were recruited for this study with one serving as the

treatment (concept map) group and one serving as the control (standard instruction)

group. It was hypothesized that the use of concept mapping would decrease the statistics

anxiety and improve the academic performance of students in the concept map group

when compared with the control group. The statistics anxiety of …

An Investigation Of Co-Rumination On Stress Levels And Mood, Anthony Thomas Holguin

Master's Theses

A recently defined type of social support known as co-rumination, the process of sharing negative thoughts, feelings, or ideas with a supporter that triggers the supporter to share similar thoughts and feelings of negativity, is believed to generate both a sense of bonding and an exacerbated stress response. The present study examined the impact of co-rumination on stress levels and mood states in men and women. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions (a control condition, a stress condition without a co-ruminator, or a stress condition with a co-ruminator), which depended on both the timeslot for which a participant …

Phenomenological Examination Of Depression In Female Collegiate Athletes, Alyson Jones

Master's Theses

Collegiate athletes may be at an increased risk of depression due to the pressure and stress they face. This risk is of great concern because their health, safety, and sport performance may all be affected. In addition, collegiate athletes are more likely to turn to maladaptive coping behaviors and less likely to seek help for mental health struggles than other populations. It has been suggested that a greater understanding of personal experiences would be helpful in increasing awareness and improving treatment. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore the lived experience of depression in female collegiate athletes. …

Health Information Version 2.0: Female Students In Cyberspace, Sonia Easaw

Master's Theses

The arrival of the Internet, one of the greatest mass media vehicles of our time, has presented a wide platform for the dissemination of health information to the American public. A majority of adults in the United States search online for information about various health and medical topics, yet a particular portion of the general public, namely college students, searches for health information online at a higher rate than the general population. Female college students especially have cause to seek information about particular women's health matters that are relevant to their age group.

This study reveals new details about the …

A Framing Study Of Media Coverage On Climate Change From 1989 To 2009, Marie Mccann

Master's Theses

This thesis examined how climate change has been framed in four major news magazines--Maclean's, Newsweek, The Economist, and U.S. News and World Report--over the past 20 years. We looked at a number of framing elements, including primary frames, depth of coverage, framing the science, sources of information, section placement, and verbiage. A content analysis of 476 articles was performed. Articles included in the sample appeared in one of the four news magazines during the years 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009 and included at least one sentence devoted to climate change. We found that the most predominant …

Interspecific Variation In Morphology And Swimming Performance Within Surfperches (Embiotocidae) From California, Benjamin Michael Perlman

Master's Theses

Surfperches are marine fishes that occupy nearshore habitats along the California coast. Morphology was analyzed to determine if there were differences among 19 preserved species. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Morphological differences occurred among the 19 species. ANOVA revealed a habitat effect on PC2, which described the angle of attachment of the pectoral fin. Pearson correlation revealed that genetic relatedness decreased with increasing morphological differences on PC1, which described aspect ratio and body ratio. Based on PC2, four species were selected to conduct experiments on their swimming performance. U_crit and fin …

Queering Hegemonies Of Gender And Cultural Identity Through A Critical Adaptation Of Maxine Hong Kingston's Novel The Woman Warrior, Julia Valentina Salvador

Master's Theses

This thesis explores hegemonic discourses associated with the constructs of gender, culture, and transglobal migration from China to the United States and how these discourses might be made visible, resisted, internalized, reappropriated, and queered through live performance. This thesis used the methodology of critical adaptation and adapted Maxine Hong Kingston's novel The Woman Warrior (1976) into a one-woman performance that explored hegemonic social structures of gender, culture, and transglobal migration and the ways in which identity is constructed and performed. Through a critical adaptation and performance of literature, this thesis reflects, expands, and raises some of the nuanced issues of …

Electroless Deposition Of Plasmonic Nanostructures On Star Polymer Templates, Melia Tjio

Master's Theses

As an alternative technique, electroless deposition is gaining interest due to its simplicity (solution-based process, no complex instrumentation), economical aspect, and effectiveness to form certain desired film thicknesses and morphologies on a wide variety of substrates. This work describes the use of water-soluble, polyvalent star polymer templates to form spontaneous self-limiting monolayers on complimentary functionalized substrates that act as efficient adhesion layers for the electroless deposition of thin gold films. The resulting gold films display outstanding thickness control, uniformity, reproducibility, and plasmon resonance generation, as evaluated by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy …

The Effects Of Bordetella Pertussis On Dendritic Cell Imprinting Of Cd4+ T Cells, Sana Waheed

Master's Theses

Bordetella pertussis is an aerobic gram-negative bacterial pathogen that causes the human respiratory disease whooping cough. Despite widespread vaccination, whooping cough is reemerging due to decreased vaccine efficacy. One of the hallmarks of infection is lymphocytosis, which is induced by the pertussis toxin. Lymphocytes such as CD4+ T cells navigate to infected tissues through surface-trafficking molecules, which are imprinted during their interaction with tissue-associated dendritic cells. We hypothesized that the pertussis toxin affects the imprinting process resulting in altered expression of trafficking molecules on CD4+ T cells. We tested this hypothesis using a mouse model of infection. Imprinting levels on …

Effects Of Competition And Dispersal On The Recruitment Of The Annual Kelp Nereocystis Luetkeana, Matthew Suskiewicz

Master's Theses

In central California, the role of algal assemblages on the recruitment of the canopy producing annual kelp Nereocystis luetkeana was examined by experimentally manipulating canopy and understory algae within 1) a Macrocysits bed and 2) a Nereocystis bed. Nereocystis reproductive material was introduced in some plots to examine the role of dispersal distance on recruitment. Nereocystis recruitment at both sites was significantly higher during spring compared to recruitment observed later in the study. Recruitment continued throughout the fall, however, suggesting a broad recruitment window. Recruitment success increased dramatically when understory algae were removed. Presence of a canopy (Nereocystis or …

Uncultivated Environmental Tm7 Model To Study Human Disease-Associated Tm7 Bacteria, David Barton

Master's Theses

The TM7 bacterial phylum has no cultivated species and includes members that span a broad range of environmental and human habitats, some of which are associated with human periodontitis. In this project, activated wastewater TM7 bacteria were analyzed and their relatedness compared to human-associated TM7 bacteria for the long-term goal of using an environmental TM7 to better understand TM7 pathogenesis in humans. DNA was extracted from activated wastewater and PCR amplified using TM7 16S rRNA gene- specific primers. The ~1,170 base pair PCR products were then cloned and sequenced. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis identified environmental TM7 clones with high …

Host-Parasite Ecology And Description Of The Louse Fly, Allobosca Crassipes, From Madagascar, Stanley Edmondson Vaughn

Master's Theses

The louse fly, Allobosca crassipes (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), is an obligate ectoparasite exclusive to lemurs in Madagascar. Research in Ranomafana National Park (RNP) in southeastern Madagascar has resulted in the identification of a new association of this fly with the black and white ruffed lemur, Varecia variegata variegata, and a confirmed association with Milne-Edwards' sifaka, Propithecus edwardsi. Previous descriptions of A. crassipes were based on only a few specimens, and the type specimen is presumed destroyed. The specimens of A. crassipes collected by SJSU in 2000-2001 provide the largest collection available for the purpose of describing this species.

Habitat …